| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1A pronouncement concerning the desert by the sea: Like storms that pass over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from the land of terror. | 1This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea : Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev. |
| 2A troubling vision is declared to me: "The treacherous one acts treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all the groaning." | 2I see a terrifying vision: I see the betrayer betraying, the destroyer destroying. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, attack and lay siege. I will make an end to all the groaning Babylon caused. |
| 3Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see. | 3My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of anguish are upon me, like those of a woman in labor. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am too afraid to look. |
| 4My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror. | 4My mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark. |
| 5Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet! Eat and drink! Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields! | 5Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. But quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle. You are being attacked! |
| 6For the Lord has said to me, "Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees. | 6Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, “Put a watchman on the city wall. Let him shout out what he sees. |
| 7When he sees riders--pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels--he must pay close attention." | 7He should look for chariots drawn by pairs of horses, and for riders on donkeys and camels. Let the watchman be fully alert.” |
| 8Then the lookout reported, "Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. | 8Then the watchman called out, “Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post. |
| 9Look, riders come--horsemen in pairs." And he answered, saying, "Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the images of her gods have been shattered on the ground." | 9Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!” |
| 10My people who have been crushed on the threshing floor, I have declared to you what I have heard from the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel. | 10O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said, everything the God of Israel has told me. A Message about Edom |
| 11A pronouncement concerning Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" | 11This message came to me concerning Edom : Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, “Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?” |
| 12The watchman said, "Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again." | 12The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but night will soon return. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask.” A Message about Arabia |
| 13A pronouncement concerning Arabia: In the desert brush you will camp for the night, you caravans of Dedanites. | 13This message came to me concerning Arabia: O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. |
| 14Bring water for the thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema meet the refugees with food. | 14O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees. |
| 15For they have fled from swords, from the drawn sword, from the bow that is strung, and from the stress of battle. | 15They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle. |
| 16For the Lord said this to me: "Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. | 16The Lord said to me, “Within a year, counting each day, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. |
| 17The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number." For the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken. | 17Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!” |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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